The best Warlock feats in DnD 5e are those that complement their playstyle and base class features well. Warlocks are full spellcasters with limited spell slots, but the abiliity to recharge spell slots at the end of short rests. They’re also forced to upcast spells to the maximum slot level available with their Pact Magic.
Eldritch Invocations give them several unique ways to customize their spells and provide extra abilities that no other spellcaster gets. Despite these differences, Warlocks still care about maximizing their spellcasting ability (Charisma) to 20 as soon as possible. That means forgoing feats until this is achieved, or at the very least picking a half-ASI feat that still gives +1 Charisma.
Beyond that, though, Warlocks’ choice of feats adds even more versatility to an already versatile class.
With all these factors in mind, I’ve broken down the 11 best Warlock feats into three categories, depending on your playstyle.
DnD 5e Best Warlock Feats (All Warlocks)
1) War Caster
Advantage on concentration checks, can perform somatic components of spells while your hands are full, and can cast a single-target spell in place of an opportunity attack.
Warlocks have very few spell slots to work with, so losing concentration on a key spell is truly heartbreaking. War Caster helps prevent this, with advantage working out to between a +3 to +5 bonus on these checks.
The second bullet is largely worthless for most Warlocks (excluding Hexblades), but the ability to cast a spell in place of an opportunity attack makes you much more threatening for enemies to run away from.
This is even better if you have Polearm Master and wield a 10-foot reach weapon, as you can cast Eldritch Blast with the Repelling Blast invocation to push melee enemies back who try to approach you.
Now, the Eldritch Mind invocation also gives advantage on concentration checks, so if you’re not planning on going for Polearm Master, I’d say just get that invocation instead of War Caster. It’s much less commitment and just as effective for protecting your concentration. But if you’re going to be making a lot of opportunity attacks or are taking PM, War Caster pairs really well with your build.
2) Resilient (Constitution)
+1 Constitution and proficiency in Constitution saving throws. The +1 is great for boosting your hit points if you’re sitting at an odd-numbered Constitution score, so plan accordingly if you’re using point buy to allocate your starting stats.
Your proficiency bonus at level 8 is +3, scaling to +4 at level 9 and +5 at level 13. So, depending on the incoming attacks and what level you pick up the feat, this can be more powerful than War Caster or Eldritch Mind for protecting your concentration (although protecting concentration is so vital for Warlocks that taking 2 out of these 3 options does seem worthwhile to me).
The main benefit of Resilient (Con) over War Caster is that it applies to ALL Con saves; not just concentration checks. And many powerful enemy spells and abilities will rely on Con saves, especially in the late game. That, and the possibility of boosting your hit point pool, are compelling reasons to take Resilient.
3) Polearm Master
Get a bonus action attack (that deals 1d4) when you attack with a polearm, and creatures provoke opportunity attacks when they enter your range while you’re wielding a polearm.
The bonus action attack is great for Hexblades, but you won’t be making weapon attacks on any other Warlock subclass (even as Pact of the Blade, Eldritch Blast tends to win out over weapon damage).
But the second bullet — getting an opportunity attack when an enemy approaches — is fabulous when paired with War Caster. If you have the Repelling Blast Eldritch Invocation (10-foot push-back for each Eldritch Blast beam to hit a target), you can push an enemy back before they can make a melee attack against you. Depending on their remaining movement speed and how many times you’re able to push them back, they might not be able to get in range to attack you at all on that turn. That’s a huge defensive benefit.
Now, Warlocks aren’t proficient in any reach weapons (they’re all martial weapons), so you’ll need to be a Pact of the Blade, Hexblade, multiclass dip, or find some other way to wield a glaive, halberd, pike, or whip to pull this off when an enemy enters your 10-foot radius. But you can also just use a quarterstaff or spear (simple weapons) and be okay with only pulling this trick off when an enemy enters your 5-foot reach (it’s still effective for protecting yourself; just slightly less so).
Ultimately, I don’t recommend PM as your first feat as a Warlock unless you’re a Hexblade; then, the bonus action attack is also a good extra source of damage. But for any Warlock build with Repelling Blast, the War Caster/Polearm Master combination is a strong choice.
4) Moderately Armored
+1 Dexterity and proficiency with medium armor and shields. This is completely unnecessary on Hexblades, but attractive for boosting the defensive capabilities of any other Warlock subclass that doesn’t plan on multiclassing.
If you’re sitting at an odd-numbered Dexterity score, this boosts your AC by 1 (and helps your Dex saves and initiative rolls, too). So say this brings you from 13 to 14 Dex. You’re also going from 14 AC in studded leather (light armor) to 17 AC in halfplate (medium armor). Oh, and equipping a shield brings you up to 19 AC. That’s +5 permanent AC in one feat — very, very tempting for increasing your survivability.
But if you DO plan on multiclassing into Paladin or Fighter, this feat becomes redundant, so you can skip it completely. Same for Artificer, Cleric, Druid, or Ranger, but most Warlocks won’t be multiclassing into any of those classes.
5) Spell Sniper
Doubles the range of spell attacks, ranged spell attacks ignore half (+2 AC) and three-quarters (+5 AC) cover, and +1 cantrip from any full spellcaster’s spell list.
The only reason to take this feat as a Warlock is for Eldritch Blast — your main source of damage. The double-range is largely unnecessary, and +1 cantrip is fine for getting another utility cantrip in your kit.
But the real reason to get Spell Sniper is to ignore cover. If your DM doesn’t utilize a lot of cover in their battles (they really should, but some don’t), then the value of Spell Sniper basically nil. But getting around +2 or +5 AC is a huge bonus if they DO use cover and run monsters that are tactically sound enough to exploit it against ranged attackers.
DnD 5e Best Warlock Feats (Utility)
6) Eldritch Adept
+1 Eldritch Invocation, which you can change around every time you level up. Somewhat counterintuitively, the class that gets the most value out of this feat is the class that already gets Eldritch Invocations: Warlocks. That’s because the feat doesn’t get around the need to meet Warlock level/Pact requirements for higher-level invocations.
There are too many powerful invocations to go over in this article, but suffice it to say that Warlocks are always forced to make difficult decisions about which invocations to get (after getting the first few obvious ones), so getting +1 is a huge boon. Especially being able to change it around as you level up.
7) Telekinetic
+1 Charisma, learn the Mage Hand cantrip (only better, because it’s invisible and has double the range), and can use a bonus action to attempt telekinetically shoving a creature within 30 feet (Strength save) 5 feet toward or away from you. The creature can willingly fail this save as well.
A half-ASI makes this a great first feat choice for a Warlock sitting at 19 Charisma currently, and Mage Hand is an excellent cantrip with a ton of utility.
But the real star of the show is the bonus action shove. Beyond applying and reapplying Hex (which is somewhat of a trap spell, anyway, but now’s not the time…), Warlocks don’t have much to do with their bonus action, so you can use this shove practically every turn of combat. UNLESS you’re a Pact of the Chain warlock — then you need your bonus action every turn to command your familiar to attack Telekinetic not worth your while.
Otherwise, this feat is great paired with persistent, area-of-effect spells like Spike Growth, Spirit Guardians, Moonbeam, etc., that trigger damage when a creature moves into the area, for throwing enemies off cliffs, and for pushing foes away from your melee range so you can escape without disengaging and used ranged attacks without disadvantage.
Plus, you can use it to help allies, allowing them to escape without taking opportunity attacks.
8) Inspiring Leader
Can spend 10 minutes giving up to six allies (including yourself) temporary hit points equal to your level + Charisma modifier, once per rest (short or long).
This is a fantastic boost to your party’s survivability and a great choice for a Warlock who’s already planning on maxing out their Charisma.
For example, if you use this on a party of five at level 12, that’s 85 total temporary hit points; basically equivalent to a whole extra party member’s worth. And if you use it twice a day (very possible, if used at the end of a long rest and then the end of the day’s first short rest), it’s even more impactful.
Warlocks might not strike you as a support class, but Inspiring Leader does a lot to make them one.
9) Fey Touched
+1 Charisma, Misty Step (2nd-level spell that allows you to teleport up to 30 feet as a bonus action), and +1 Divination or Enchantment spell, both castable once per day without expending a spell slot (or more, using spell slots).
Like Telekinetic, the half-ASI makes this feat a solid choice as your first feat if you’re sitting at 19 Charisma. And Misty Step is a phenomenal spell for escaping danger and getting into advantageous positions.
As for the free 1st-level spell, something like Dissonant Whispers (psychic damage and forces target to flee, provoking opportunity attacks) is an excellent choice for a Warlock in a party with many melee allies, especially Rogues and Paladins. Command is also always fun, and Tasha’s Hideous Laughter is surprisingly effective for a 1st-level spell.
Regardless of what spell you choose, the ability to cast Misty Step and this spell once a day for free is a big help for Warlocks, what with their extremely limited spell slots.
DnD 5e Best Warlock Feats (Hexblade)
10) Great Weapon Master
+1 bonus action melee attack whenever you land a critical hit or kill a creature with a melee weapon and can take a -5 attack roll penalty when attacking with a heavy weapon for +10 damage if it hits. Hexblades can make good use of heavy, two-handed weapons as long as they have Pact of the Blade, and there’s no better feat for increasing your damage output as a melee character than GWM.
Plus, the bonus action attack gives you more damage output regardless, as you crit on a target cursed by your Hexblade’s Curse on a 19 or 20 (twice as often as normal characters) and you’ll certainly be last-hitting a lot of enemies as a Hexblade.
11) Crossbow Expert
Ignore the loading quality of crossbows, being within 5 feet of an enemy doesn’t impose disadvantage on ranged attack rolls, and can make a bonus action hand crossbow attack whenever you take Attack with a one-handed weapon (including the same hand crossbow).
The more often you attack, the more often you trigger damage from Hexblade’s Curse, the Lifedrinker invocation, and Hex (if you’re still using Hex at this level). And ignoring disadvantage on ranged attack rolls is a huge help for being able to deal with melee foes surrounding you.
Overall, if you’re using a ranged weapon as a Hexblade, no feat will do more for your damage than CBE.
Good Warlock Feats Runners-up
These feats are neat and can be fun on a Warlock, but I don’t think they’re “optimal.” That said, they’re worth considering if they suit your character’s backstory, role in the party, or you just think they’re nify and would be cool in your campaign.
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Shadow Touched. +1 Charisma, Invisibility spell, and +1 1st-level Illusion or Necromancy spell, both castable once per day without expending a spell slot (or more, using spell slots). Like Fey Touched, more free spells are very valuable for Warlocks, and the half-ASI is equally nice. Invisibility is a great spell for a number of situations. For Illusion or Necromancy spells, Silent Image or Disguise Self are solid once-a-day spell options to add versatility. And False Life is a good choice for boosting your survivability if you’re willing to expend a spell slot to upcast it.
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Actor. +1 Charisma, advantage on Deception and Performance checks to act like a different person, and can mimic a creature you’ve heard speak/make a sound for at least a minute (Insight vs. Deception check if a creature tries to discern your trickery). A half-ASI is nice, and if you’re already acting as the party’s “Face,” then access to better Deception is a welcome thing for roleplaying missions.
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Alert. +5 initiative, can’t be surprised, and unseen attackers don’t get attack advantage against you. Going earlier in combat is key to winning fights faster, not to mention shutting enemies down with powerful AOE spells like Hypnotic Pattern. The other perks are fine as well, but the huge +5 initiative bonus will make a significant difference for low-Dexterity Warlocks.
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Metamagic Adept. +2 Metamagic options and +2 Sorcery Points to use on them. Warlocks are forced to upcast, meaning you can’t take Twinned Spell into the late game, but other metamagics can be very nice, depending on your build. Quickened Spell (cast a leveled spell and Eldritch Blast on the same turn), Empowered Spell (reroll damage dice), and Subtle Spell (avoid being Counterspelled) are generally player favorites for Warlocks.
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Fighting Initiate (ranged weapon Hexblade). +1 fighting style. If you’re using a ranged weapon, getting Archery for +2 to attack rolls provides a significant boost to your damage output. Otherwise, there’s no reason to take this feat as a melee Hexblade character.
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Lucky. Can reroll 3d20 per day, including attack rolls against you. Technically good on any character in DnD 5e, but boring as heck.
